We'll back player walk-offs over racism, says union chief Carlisle

Clark Carlisle, chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association, has told Inside Sport that he will support any player in English football who walks off the pitch after being subjected to racist abuse - as former Spurs and Portsmouth midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng did when playing in a friendly for Milan in Italy last week.

'I will always back a player who walks off because he doesn't feel the situation is being dealt with by the referees, by warnings over the Tannoy or by offenders being thrown out,' said Carlisle.

Everybody off! Kevin-Prince Boateng gestures at abusive fans

But he criticised the Football Association's new plans to combat racism as being 'too flowery' and lacking 'any definitive detail'. Last month the FA said players, coaches and clubs in England will face tougher penalties for racist behaviour 'to ensure the game is inclusive and free of discrimination'.

Boateng, a Ghana international, walked off the pitch on Thursday during Milan's friendly at Italian fourth division club Pro Patria. The club, whose name means 'For The Fatherland', are based in Busto Arsizio, a city just north of Milan renowned for its support of right-wing political parties.

Boateng, who joined Milan from Portsmouth in 2010, was targeted for racist abuse by a section of the crowd before making his protest halfway through the first half. In what some observers have called a 'tipping point' for anti-racism action, all the players from both sides as well as the match officials joined Boateng and the vast majority of the crowd applauded.

Backing: PFA chief Clark Carlisle

Carlisle said: 'Boateng's action is something I applaud, and I think it's a fantastic statement that both teams went off. It's even better that it happened in a country where we've questioned how seriously people want to tackle the backward-thinking behaviour that is racism.

'My biggest grievance with the recent plans announced by the FA is that there isn't any definitive detail for incidents like this. We all agree racism needs tackling. But tell us now, very precisely, what we should do, the actual mechanisms and procedures. The whole shebang is very flowery at the moment. It's not definitive.'

Armstrong may come clean on drugs as GB cycling is examined

As speculation intensifies that disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong (right) is considering admitting that he took drugs to help him win the Tour de France seven times, Inside Sport can reveal that Britain's anti-doping agency, UKAD, are investigating the extent to which the sport's drug problem may have impacted on British racing.

Reports in the United States claim that Armstrong wants to own up in the hope that he can resume his sporting career.

He was stripped of his Tour titles and banned for life from all Olympic sports after a huge investigation by the US anti-doping agency (USADA) proved Armstrong took banned substances for much of his career.

The publication of USADA's 'Armstrong files' had wide-ranging effects across the sport, including Britain's Team Sky reiterating its zero tolerance policy to drug use by any staff member, ever. Team Sky were shocked to learn that rider Michael Barry had admitted to USADA that he had taken drugs in the past, while Team Sky employees Dr Geert Leinders, Bobby Julich and Steven De Jongh are among others leaving recently under a doping cloud.

'UKAD is always interested in intelligence that will help in the fight for cleaner sport,' a senior anti-doping source told Inside Sport. 'Anyone with information should be encouraged to come forward in confidence.'

Team Sky insist that whatever the drug indiscretions of staff members before joining them, Team Sky have always ridden clean.

With 2012 Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins in the vanguard, they want to be seen as the pioneers of a new, clean era in cycling.

Some critics argue that Team Sky's 'no drugs' policy evidently failed in as much as it did not prevent past dopers from working with them.

Any confession by Armstrong could rest on whether he is guaranteed immunity from prosecution for perjury after lying in court cases in the past about his doping.